Ana-Caroline finale

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia ousted top seed Angelique Kerber in straight sets Saturday to reach the final of the 1-million-dollar Pan Pacific Open against US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki.

Third seed Ivanovic charged back from 3-5 down in the first set to beat the 26-year-old German favourite 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Denmark's Wozniacki, seeded second and looking to get over her loss to world number one Serena Williams in the US Open two weeks ago, outplayed Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in two and a half hours.

"I started a little bit slow but after the break I tried to get more explosive and moving a little more," Ivanovic said of her second broken serve which put her 2-1 down at the start of the match.

She did not lose any more serves and broke world number eight Kerber four times altogether.

"It was for sure a tough match," said Kerber.

"We played great but she [Ivanovic] was able to catch the important moments."

Wozniacki, 24, broke Muguruza's serve five times but lost hers four times in a marathon match spiked with long rallies.

"I kept fighting. It was a very competitive match," said Wozniacki, who was the world number one in 2010 and 2011, now ranked ninth after returning to the top 10 with her US Open performance.

"I just tried to stay in there and in the end I think maybe I had a little bit more energy than what she had."